Chapter 179 178. Is this flattery?

At the age of 18 years and 8 months, Zhang Yang broke James' record of being the youngest player to win the Player of the Month at the age of 19 years and 11 months!

As soon as the list of winners was announced, it immediately aroused heated discussions among the media and fans.

According to current draft rules, American native players must be at least 19 years old to participate in the draft.

海外球员年龄有所放宽，18岁也可以参选，但必须在选秀当年能够年满19岁（参考范例字母哥，1994年12月6号出生，2013年6月参加选秀时18岁零6个月）。

If a player participates in the draft this year, he will not turn 12 until December 31st of this year. Even if he can win the monthly best player in the first month of his rookie season, he will be 19 years and 18 months old at that time.

In other words, as long as the draft rules do not change, there is no possibility that Zhang Yang's youngest record will be broken!

And even if the rules were changed back to the original ones, it would be unlikely that anyone would be able to break them.

Even if they have the same strength, it is difficult to meet a team like the Bobcats. Even if the individual strength and team strength are the same, there are only Iverson in the modern basketball era, except Zhang Yang, who is as determined as Zhang Yang to take 10+ shots in 25 consecutive games in the first and second grades.

Zhang Yang, who created an "iron record", reached a milestone that night.

Felton played against Billups tonight, and he scored 29 points and 7 assists.

Although Zhang Yang couldn't deal with Hamilton without the ball, he performed well in singles against Hamilton and scored 23 points.

奥卡福17分16板、杰拉德-华莱士16分6板4助攻、米尔萨普8分4板、马特-卡罗尔9分、阿兰-安德森8分、隆多4分6助攻……靠着‘全明星首发带你畅游赌城’的激励，山猫队全队打得都很好。

首节28比20领先、第二节24比25小负1分、第三节27比25将分差拉开到9分，但末节比卢普斯单节17分，率领活塞队狂轰36分，在还剩7秒钟的时候以106比103反超山猫队3分。

In the final moments, Zhang Yang was double-teamed without the ball, and Felton took advantage of the screen to step around and hit a three-pointer, dragging the game into overtime.

Then they played two overtimes in a row...the Pistons simply wore out the Bobcats!
第一个加时比分11比11，第二个加时比分9比4，活塞队以126比121险胜山猫队，送给山猫队本赛季第18场失利。

At this point in time, the Bobcats were dragged into a double overtime by the Pistons, which was a bit exhausting for them.

Fortunately, the Jews are not completely inhumane. After 1 games in January, the Bobcats played the last four games at home before the All-Star Weekend.

Moreover, on the 3rd, the Bobcats will face their opponent, the Nets, at home. They have games on the 30th, 31st, and 2nd. Tonight is the last game of the Nets' 5 games in 4 days.

Both teams were tired, and the Bobcats relied on better defense to beat the Nets 92-85, improving their record to 32 wins and 18 losses.

张杨今晚表现很好，18投10中，其中三分球4中2，加上4中4的罚球，拿到26分7板3助攻。

基德今晚投篮表现也很好，20投10中拿到25分，外加14板以及……3次助攻。

When you see Kidd only had 3 assists, you can tell how bad the offensive state of the other Nets players is without watching the game.

Carter made 12 of 4 shots tonight, and Richard Jefferson only made 10 of 2 shots.

The more inaccurate the Nets' other players' shots were, the tighter the Bobcats defended, not giving Kidd the chance to help his teammates get going, letting Kidd shoot, even letting Kidd shoot in open space...

The day after playing against the Nets, the Bobcats received good news - Okafor was selected as an All-Star reserve!

The other six substitutes in the Eastern Conference are Arenas, Billups, Hamilton, Joe Johnson, Bosh and Howard.

Kidd has averaged 14 points, 8.5 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game so far this season, and once again failed to be selected as an All-Star reserve.

When Zhang Yang was watching the news, he saw a reporter mention that Kidd had not been selected for the All-Star Game for three consecutive years since the 03-04 season.

After the 2004 All-Star Weekend, Kidd forced the Nets management to fire Byron Scott. This matter could be a big deal or a small one. If Kidd kept silent afterwards, it would mean that there was a discord between the general and the coach, and he would be regarded as a thorn in the side at most.

But when Kidd was asked in an interview whether Scott was driven away by him, he replied - "I don't know what the meaning of the position of head coach is."

I don’t know how many head coaches were offended by this statement.

After two tough games against the Pistons and Nets, the Bobcats' happy time has finally arrived!
On February 2, the Bobcats faced the second-to-last Bucks in the Eastern Conference at home and won easily 5-109.

The Bobcats had good scoring opportunities in this game, but Zhang Yang scored less than against the Pistons and Nets. He played for only 23 minutes, made 9 of 5 shots and scored only 14 points, but had 5 assists.

It's not just him. The other three core players of the Bobcats also had less playing time and scored less points. Matt Carroll, a master of bullying, made 5 three-pointers tonight and scored a game-high 22 points.

奥卡福6投4中拿到11分12板3助攻、米尔萨普15分6板、隆多8分5助攻、费尔顿8分8助攻、阿兰-安德森9分、杰拉德-华莱士10分6板4助攻……

Halfway through the second quarter, the score difference reached 15 points, and the four brothers all chose to give role players opportunities to shoot.

The Bucks had been on the rise in the past few seasons and were ranked among the top eight in the Eastern Conference last season, but this season their star player Reed is beginning to show signs of becoming a glass man.

In the past four years, Reed played in 4, 82, 82 and 75 games respectively, climbing from an average of 80 points per game to an average of 15+ points per game. His steadily increasing strength and excellent attendance rate are the basis for the Bucks' rise.

Reed has missed 49 of the first 20 games this season, averaging 26 points per game. The Bucks have a good record of 29 wins and 15 losses in the 14 games he played, but he played too few games and was not selected as an All-Star reserve.

Tonight, the Bucks play their 50th game of the season, and Reed is injured again. He probably won't be able to play in the remaining two games of the first half.

On February 2, the last game day of the first half of the season for the Bobcats, they faced the 7ers at home in their final half-season match.

Before the start of the season, when Zhang Yang looked at the live broadcast schedule, he found that this game was scheduled to be broadcast live across the United States and would be the focus of the halfway match.

He and Iverson were both guaranteed to be All-Star starters, both wore No. 3, and were both scoring-focused players...but after Iverson left the 76ers, the live broadcast of this game was canceled early on.

In the last game of the first half, all the Bobcats players were very excited. After this game, they can have a good rest for a few days!
The 76ers players felt the same way. Although their mid-season schedule was not as tight, they also had 52 games in the first half. Their schedule in November and December was more difficult than that of the Bobcats. They wanted to take a break now, and now it’s finally the last game of the first half, and they are all very happy... except Iguodala.

When Iverson left, Iguodala was reluctant to let him go, but besides being reluctant, he was also happy and expectant - the team said that they would train him like Kobe, McGrady and Carter.

Indeed, the team did so. The team's history legend, the No. 10 jersey was retired by the 76ers, the 76ers were going to build a statue for him, the Hall of Fame candidate, and their team's head coach Maurice Cheeks personally coached him and surrounded him all day long, teaching him breakthrough scoring techniques, teaching him defense, teaching him how to organize offense... He was very excited and happy about all these. Before Iverson left, although he was also trained as a key player, the level of attention was far less than it is now.

But when Iguodala really started to lead the team, he started to miss big brother AI after just a few games...

He is only in the third grade and cannot support a team.

The 76ers currently have 15 wins and 36 losses, a full 10 wins away from the ninth place in the Eastern Conference, but they are not as bad as the Celtics, which makes Iguodala very confused. He wants to do everything, but nothing he does is good.

The game starts at 9pm.

The 76ers played well in the first quarter, tying the Bobcats 28 to 29. In the second quarter, the offensive efficiency of both teams dropped. The 76ers scored 20 points, but the Bobcats only scored 23 points.

Trailing by four points at halftime was the 4ers' best performance in the four meetings between the Bobcats this season.

In the third quarter, the difference in strength began to emerge. The Bobcats beat the 76ers 22 to 14 in a single quarter, widening the gap to 12 points in one fell swoop.

With the score at the end of the quarter at 25-21, the Bobcats gave the 76ers no chance to come back.

奥卡福17分10板、费尔顿14分9助攻、杰拉德-华莱士15分5板3助攻3抢断1盖帽、张杨20分6板2助攻1盖帽、米尔萨普13分10板、隆多8分3助攻……山猫队以99比83轻取76人队，三连胜收官赛季前半程，战绩提升到34胜18负！
终场哨声响起后，张杨看着大屏幕上他14投8中、三分球3中2、罚球2中2的表现，不错不错，涨了一小丢丢命中率。

The best performers on the opposing team were Andre Miller and Iguodala.

米勒18分5助攻，13投6中、罚球8中6的表现还不错，但这位背打型控卫的节奏与76人队其他人不在同一条线上。

Iguodala, Korver, Dalembert, Willie Green, etc. all have to move to attack, but Andre Miller is too slow. Iguodala scored 15 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal tonight...very comprehensive, but Zhang Yang, who occasionally played against him tonight, felt weird.

The future FMVP is sometimes effective, sometimes not, whether it is scoring, defending, or organizing offense, but not like Odom, who is hit or miss all the time.

...

After finishing the post-match interview and physical therapy, Zhang Yang returned to his apartment and fell asleep.

It's been too long!

This season has been so tiring!

He was in good physical condition in the last two games, playing 23 minutes in one and 28 minutes in the other. With his recovery ability, it is equivalent to "resting" in this mid-season stage.

But the psychological fatigue is still accumulating from these two games.

Before, he always thought that he didn't care much about the team's record in the first few years of his career. He referred to the talented stars who were lottery picks and entered the bottom-ranked teams like him.

But last month, when he averaged 26.5 throws per game, he could only lead the team to a 50% win rate despite his best efforts. The win rate in the first half of the season dropped by half a level because of this. He found out that he was wrong, and he cares about this very much...

During that time, he would occasionally curse the damn head coach and the damn boss for putting such a heavy burden on him when no one was around, as he was only an 18-year-old kid.

However, when the responsibility of carrying the team came to him like a torrent, he was unable and unwilling to retreat, and he took the initiative to choose to go against the current.

Sacrificed defense or even didn't defend. There was some passing in the past, but during that period, they ignored it and gave it all to Felton and Rondo. They would throw the ball when they got it, and if there was no chance to throw it, they would break through and throw it. Anyway, they just found a way to throw the ball.

It’s great when you shoot accurately, but when you keep missing, you’ll feel frustrated by the feeling of powerlessness.

But he still has to stay optimistic and continue throwing in the next game... It takes a lot of courage to dare to throw.

After playing five back-to-back games in four weeks, he was still tense inside. It was not until tonight that he dared to truly feel relieved.

The pressure of nearly two months was all released at this moment. From December 12 to February 26, the Bobcats had not had a break for more than 2 days. After playing a game, they could only rest for one day at most. Now they can finally rest for several days in a row. He doesn't want anything else but to have a good sleep...

Around 10 o'clock the next morning, Zhang Yang woke up hungry and got up to get something to eat.

Young men have no real worries. No matter how stressed they are, they can take a good sleep after finishing their work and all their worries will be gone. If one sleep doesn't work, they can take another one.

After eating something, he saw a text message on his phone, which was from Tellem. He called back and talked about his upcoming work in Las Vegas, then called his parents and told them what he wanted to eat and that he would stay at his parents' house tonight.

Tomorrow his parents will go to Las Vegas with him to play for a few days. They have been busy for a year, so they might as well take a holiday during the New Year.

There are only ten days left until New Year's Eve. Zhang Yang didn't have time to celebrate New Year's Eve this year, so he celebrated the Little New Year as New Year's Eve.

It was Little Wukong’s birthday last month. Zhang Yang was playing three consecutive away games in the West, so he took his brother out to play and bought some gifts to make up for it.

Then he called DeRozan, Harden, Coach Thomas and others, and invited them to go to Las Vegas together. Los Angeles and Las Vegas are close to each other, so the two lottery kings and the Compton High School coaching staff all accepted the invitation.

As for Tatum, he can't go this time. North Carolina just won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship and has started the invitational stage of the game to prepare for the March Madness. As Lawson's substitute, Tatum averaged 16 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3 assists in 3.5 conference games. He is focused on the court and has no time to come out and play.

After finishing all the things in life, Zhang Yang decided not to go for extra practice today. He would just be a useless person at home, watching TV, surfing the Internet, playing games, reading the news... and spending the whole afternoon leisurely.

In the last game last night, the Jazz defeated the Cavaliers 104-99 at home, and the first half of the NBA 2006-2007 regular season came to an end.

Zhang Yang was surprised when he saw the ranking. The Mavericks suddenly surpassed the Suns!

The Suns are second in the Western Conference with a record of 40 wins and 12 losses at the first half of the season, while the Mavericks are first in the Western Conference with a record of 41 wins and 11 losses!

Zhang Yang remembered that the Suns' record was 39 wins and 9 losses not long ago.

He looked at the Suns' recent record...[●｀●]
The Suns lost three straight games to end the first half of the season, losing to the Hawks, SuperSonics and Mavericks.

The reason for the three consecutive losses is very simple. In the game against the Nuggets on February 2, Nash competed too fiercely with Iverson, and the two collided and fell, both of them were injured.

After that game, neither of the two MVPs from the 96 class played again.

Both of them asked the league to withdraw from the upcoming All-Star Game in Las Vegas.

Yao Ming also applied to withdraw from the All-Star Game.

The alliance approved the three people's applications to withdraw from the competition.

The original Western Conference All-Star lineup included: Iverson, Kobe, Garnett, Duncan, Yao Ming as starters; Nash, Parker, McGrady, Ray Allen, Anthony, Stoudemire, Nowitzki as substitutes.

斯特恩指定场均17分10板的马里昂、场均19分7板1.8助攻1.2抢断1盖帽的约什-霍华德、场均17.6分7板2助攻的梅米特-奥库候补入选。

Nash was injured and the Suns were beaten by the Mavericks. Zhang Yang could understand that.

But losing to the Hawks, third from the bottom in the Eastern Conference, and the SuperSonics, second from the bottom in the Western Conference, left Zhang Yang with a lot of question marks.

The Mavericks overtook the Suns at the last minute and took first place in the first half. The Spurs remained third in the league with 39 wins and 13 losses.

The Rockets' record is fourth in the Western Conference, but they are ranked fifth in the Western Conference. The Yao-McGrady combination is really strong. In the games where both of them played, their winning rate was as high as 75%, and they could win 4 out of 3 games. But if one of them was absent, the winning rate dropped to only 50%. In the 5 games that both of them were absent, the Rockets only got 1 win and 4 losses.

Fortunately, McGrady has a good attendance rate this season. He only missed 52 games in the first 8 games. The Rockets' record has held up, with 35 wins and 17 losses.

After the Jazz defeated the Cavaliers, their record reached 34 wins and 18 losses, and they ranked fourth in the Western Conference by virtue of being the top team in the Northwest Division.

Then there are the Lakers, Clippers, Hornets, Warriors, Nuggets...

In the East, the Pistons are first with 36 wins and 16 losses, and they have the best record in the East. Fortunately, they ranked fourth in the league at the end of the first half, so that their record would not be worse than that of the Rockets, who are fifth in the West.

The Bobcats are second with 34 wins and 18 losses, and the Bulls are third with 30 wins and 22 losses.

The Raptors' record soared in January, with 1 wins and 27 losses, ranking fourth as the leader of the Atlantic Division.

The Cavaliers are third in the Central Division and can only finish fifth at best with 28 wins and 24 losses.

篮网队和奇才队都是26胜26负，分列第六第七，热火队25胜27负第八，魔术队24胜28负第九。

Outside of the top nine, no team has more than 20 wins.

When Zhang Yang was browsing the news, he saw the grades that TNT Sports had divided the teams into: Mavericks, Suns, Spurs, all at T1 level.

The Bobcats are in the same league as the Pistons, Rockets and Jazz.

It was a bit difficult to hold on. Zhang Yang opened the ESPN official website, ready to see what tricks ESPN could come up with to promote their cause of support...Σ(⊙▽⊙“a!!!

Oh my god! ESPN no longer supports KING, and actually said that his bad boy Jack is the best player in the Eastern Conference in the first half!
Two words popped up in his mind - overpraising to death!

(End of this chapter)